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Can I switch programs mid-stay?

Switching programs

Can I switch programs mid-stay?

The question tends to come on day four, when a Foundation dog is doing well and its family starts wondering what a second week could add. Sometimes a switch makes sense. Often a gap does more. Here is how to tell, and what to ask.

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Last reviewed October 10, 2026 · by the Dogtown team · reviewed by Gabriella Pope, Director of Training & Canine Behaviorist

How it works

A switch depends on the calendar and the terms, and Advanced is designed as two weeks from the start

Foundation and Advanced share a first week, so it is natural to think one could stretch into the other. They are planned differently, though. Advanced is written for adolescents who know their cues at home and lose them outside, and its second week of distraction proofing, real-world outings and neutrality work is scheduled from the start, along with two coaching lessons. Adding a week to a Foundation stay depends on trainer time being free and on the change terms confirmed when you book.

So the decision has two halves. Gabriella Pope judges whether your dog would gain from Advanced's second week, and the training team checks whether the trainer time exists on those dates. No extension or upgrade policy is published, so neither answer can be assumed in advance. If you suspect your dog may need two weeks, say so at the consult, before you book, rather than on day four.

Advanced is planned as two weeks from day one
An extension depends on free trainer time
Terms for changes are confirmed when you book
Raise the possibility at the consult, not mid-stay

The case for a gap

Often the stronger move is to finish Foundation, practice at home, then come back for Advanced

More training packed into fewer days is not always better. In a 2011 study in Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Demant and colleagues trained 44 laboratory Beagles on the same task under four schedules. Dogs trained once or twice a week learned it better than dogs trained every day, and one session at a time beat three in a row. Four weeks later, every group remembered the task well. Spacing helped the learning without costing any memory.

A board and train is daily training by design, which is why the practice after it matters so much. A Foundation dog that goes home, uses its cues with the family for a few weeks and then starts Advanced arrives with skills already tested in real life. The family arrives knowing where those skills break down, which sharpens the second program. The gap also shows whether an adolescent's problem is distraction, which Advanced addresses, or fear, which it does not.

Finish Foundation and take the go-home lesson
Practice the cues at home for a few weeks
Note where they fail: which place, which distraction
Then book Advanced with those notes in hand

Worked example

Worked example: two Foundation dogs on day four, and two different answers

Day four, two Foundation dogs. The first is a 9-month-old shepherd mix who arrived knowing sit and down, already has place and a looser leash, and is ready for harder settings than the training floor. Its gaps are about distraction, which is Advanced territory. If the trainer's calendar is open and the terms allow, extending into an Advanced plan may suit it; if not, finishing Foundation and returning for Advanced after some weeks of home practice is a sound second choice.

The second is a 6-month-old who is learning well but still finds the building tiring, sleeps hard after every session and has only just started eating with gusto. A second week would mostly add nights away. This dog goes home on schedule, its family practices from the go-home lesson, and the next step is chosen later: Advanced as an adolescent, Dogtown Academy days at $89 full or $69 half, or private sessions from $94. The early updates usually show which kind of dog you have.

Switching down

A change can go the other way too, toward day training or a different program

Sometimes the right change is to something lighter. A dog that is not settling may do better on Canine Campus, 2, 4 or 6 weeks of day training with pick-up and drop-off included, sleeping at home every night. A dog whose trouble turns out to be fear or reactivity rather than missing manners belongs in a program where you hold the leash, such as React Less, Relax More over 8 weeks and 16 sessions. How a change affects the price and the remaining days is part of the booking terms.

Whichever way a change goes, ask for it in writing: the new program, the dates, the lessons and what happens to money already paid. The free evaluation your dog took before the stay, on a weekday morning between 6:30 and 9:30 at 210 Eastern Ave in Gloucester, also covers daycare and Academy days, so a dog moving to day programs does not start from scratch. Our Foundation vs Advanced page compares the two stays side by side.

01
Raise the chance of a longer stay at the consult
02
Read the first days' updates for settling and progress
03
Ask the trainer on day three or four whether a change makes sense
04
Check trainer time and the written terms for any change
05
Get the new program, dates and lessons in writing

At Dogtown

Where a change can lead

Foundation, Advanced, Canine Campus and Dogtown Academy days all start from the same assessment and the same free evaluation.

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Every price on one page

Asked and answered

Questions people ask about this

Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.

Can I book Advanced after Foundation ends?

Yes, as a new booking. A dog that has finished Foundation and practiced at home is often well placed for Advanced, especially once adolescence makes cues wobble outdoors. A fresh assessment decides whether Advanced, Calm & Connected or Academy days fits best at that point, and the free evaluation it already took still counts.

Will switching cost more?

Board and train programs are quoted after the assessment, and Dogtown does not publish their prices or its terms for changing them. Ask at the consult how an extension or a switch would be priced and get the answer in writing before the stay. Training sessions start from $94.

Can I switch from Advanced to Foundation if my dog struggles?

Ask the training team. Advanced's first week covers the Foundation skill list anyway, so the training can stay on the basics if your dog needs it, and Gabriella Pope will tell you what she recommends. Whether the length or the terms change as well is confirmed with you at the time.

Is a longer stay always better?

No. Length decides what can be taught, and the practice afterward decides what lasts. Spaced practice often beats more days in a row, and some dogs simply cope better with fewer nights away. The second week earns its place when the cues exist and fail outside, not as a general top-up.